Hide and seek, an Adrenalin game

Every Moslem believes that during the sacred month of Ramadhan, the devil, Satan, jinn, kiddo ghost, monsters, elf, phantoms, evil spirits, ghouls, gnomes, goblins, fairies, banshees and poltergeists are on leave. Allah the Almighty God with the magic chains bonded them all. With those spirit of courage, we as innocent kids were not afraid anymore. We chosen after Maghrib prayer as the right time to have the hide and seek game. The players consist of the mascot-boy and the hidden-groups. The rule was mascot had to find the hidden-groups. As we’ve been told that, no evil-spirits could not disturb us, so every kid tried to show their guts. That’s why I call this game as adrenalin Hide and seek.

...Allah the Almighty God with the magic chains bonded them all...

At the backside of our village mosque laid the graveyard called as Pasarean Ywapati, the Mangkunegarans official graveyard. Pasarean means as the sleeping place for the dead. In this case, the nobles dead. As nobles, their graveyard is so beautiful just like a mansion with the flower garden surroundings. It was such a good views. The peasants’ graveyard lay at the backside of this pasarean, right in the middle of sugar-cane tree plantation. There are two of them, at the south and southeast one.

After we draught the mascot, finally Peyet was chosen one. The rest must run and hide as fast we can. We tried to seek the hardest place to find by Peyet. I myself ran in to the sugar-cane plantation, it was the after-harvest time. I slept underneath the dry sugar-cane leaves. It was in the middle of dry season, called as nJediding, Javanese term for the cold dry season. The night of nJediding time is so cold, chills to your bones. Take this picture; with the half-moon scene and owl’s singing, it was so spooky. Not to mention the clouds were running across the moon...in pairs...one two....

Jendul --the bravest kid among us-- hidden at the southern graveyard. This is the spookiest and isolated peasants’ graveyard. He climbed the giant mahogany tree right in the center of that graveyard. He might get along with owls, or maybe the real ghosts! Then we’ll see Gito. Gito actually was not in our age-level because he was three years old more than we were. His body as big as buffalo the bad news is; he gets mad easily. In addition, when he gets mad, you’d better to get away of him....

Gito was more spectacular on his hidden quest. He slept underneath the unused stone-coffin of the dead, just like the dead their selves! What a spooky kid! Other kids lay between the mosques, the nobles’ graveyard, and the peasants’ one. Mostly they had hidden in the middle of sugar-cane plantation bush.

the spooky mahogany tree....

One minute, two minute we didn’t hear any voices yet from Peyet as the mascot. One hour after two hour, still there was no Peyet’s voice. I was falling asleep under the sugar-cane bushes. While Jendul was still up there, at the giant tree. Gito slept underneath the coffin. We know later about who Peyet really was. He was totally a jerk. You could not trust him at all. Why? As the mascot, he must found us whatsoever. That was the rules! However, maybe because we hidden at the abnormal place, he then walked home and slept! Asshole!

We were up after hear the Barzanzi of grand elder Soma,--our noblest village cleric—and hurried up to the mosque to do the subuh prayer. After we met together, we shared our story on how and where we hide. In addition, that was the time when we know where in the hell Peyet was. He ran away from his obligation as mascot, what a jerk! We felt hate, mad, because this irresponsible boy was fooling us, but what can we do this was the fasting month, we could nod take revenge among Allah SWT’s creatures. We just swallowed those hatreds.

The moral of this story is, if we believe that nothing or no one can do us harm then so be it! It even can lead us to do the bravest things! It was impossible unless in the sacred month of Ramadhan. Who thinks that Gito able to sleep underneath the coffin? Jendul could stays all night long at the spooky giant tree, and I myself slept in the middle of sugar-cane plantation? Those experiences really make me wonder, even up to present...

The tricky Peyet is becoming tailor man now, Gito owns his own sate restaurant, while Jendul is going back home to our homeland and make his living as a daily-goods storeowner after years in Jakarta. What about yourself koeaing? Me? Oh, I become a jobless man whose hobby is writing this stuff to you peoples...

Koeaing!
Still remember the after-harvest sugar cane smell...a very good smell....